“I want you to try something: Name five impressive things about yourself. Write them down or just shout them out loud to the room. But here’s the catch — you’re not allowed to list anything you are (i.e., I’m a nice guy, I’m honest), but instead can only list things that you do (i.e., I just won a national chess tournament, I make the best chili in Massachusetts). If you found that difficult, well, this is for you, and you are going to fucking hate hearing it. My only defense is that this is what I wish somebody had said to me around 1995 or so.”
“6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person” by David Wong
I just stumbled upon an article by David Wong titled: “6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person” — and apparently, so did over 5 million other people (or somewhat less, it’s views, not unique visits). It’s very well worth reading — among others, it debunks the ‘nice guy/girl’ line some people have: “Why can’t I get X, I’m such a nice guy/girl?”
Beautifully done and nicely illustrated, among others he argues for actually investing time and effort to do something, not just wasting time consuming … and he deals very well with the usual resistance to articles like his. The language is somewhat harsh and it can go too far (make sure you get something of equal worth for what you give), but still: Highly recommended.
